February 01, 2013 | Europe Eurasia: Cyprus

For Some Its Been a Long Hard Road to PyeongChang

By Georgios Michael

Today Cyprus celebrated their first team win thanks to their floor hockey team. On this team are two athletes who have overcome enormous adversity. Because Ghassan Katayand and his team mate Ahmed Asfour are political refugees.
Ghassan Katayan was born in Lebanon in 1992. His father abandoned his family leaving Ghassan’s mother to raise five children on her own.
In 2000, during the war in Lebanon, a bomb crushed into Ghassan’s house and his sister lost her two legs. Ghassan’s mother, Ms Wusun, took the whole family to ask for political asylum in Cyprus.
Ahmed Asfour is the first child of an Iraq family who fled to Cyprus to find a better life.
Participating in Special Olympics in Cyprus helped both families build a network of support. Both boys now attend special schools and train often. Recently the Mayor of Ahmed’s town wished him success in South Korea and told him that he feels proud that his community of Larnaca has citizens like Ahmed who represent Cyprus in international event

About Georgios Michael: I am Head Coach with Team Cyprus at PyeongChang 2013